Panasonic Corporation recently debuted its 56-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel with  4k2k resolution (3,840 x 2,160 resolution, 8.29 million pixels), at the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the printing method of production of OLED panels, OLED materials are applied to the substrate through a printing technique to form an electroluminescent (EL) layer, a statement from the company said. Due to the simplicity of the production process, it is expected that the technology will be easily adaptable to the production of OLED panels in a variety of screen sizes.

Through the printing method, it is also possible to apply just the right amount of organic material to where it is needed, reducing waste material and shortening production lead time, making the printing method of production more economical.

In the production of the OLED panel, Panasonic utilised the RGB all-printing method, which allows for the separate application of the red, green and blue OLED materials by means of printing, and has developed the equipment and process technologies to apply the materials uniformly to a large substrate.

As OLED panels are self-illuminating devices, they deliver superb picture quality with high contrast, high color reproductivity and a fast response rate, the statement said. They also combine the advantages of plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, such as an ultra-thin profile, light weight and low power consumption.  

Due to these characteristics, OLED is considered as a promising option for next-generation displays that will create new applications in a broad range of fields, for use not just in the home, but in medical, broadcasting and aircraft applications, it said. With the advancement of display technologies, which may enable sheet-type or flexible displays, OLED panels will find more applications in a wider range of industries.

Panasonic has been carrying out its own research and development in OLED technology.  The company is exploring ways to capitalise on the characteristics and potential of OLED devices to the fullest extent, taking advantage of its know-how in manufacturing and achieving high picture quality it has cultivated in its development of PDP and LCD flat-panels.  

The company is also collaborating with Sony Corporation to develop mass-production printing-based technology for OLED panels. The thin-film-transistor (TFT) substrates used in the prototype panels were supplied by Sony as part of the collaborative efforts. – TradeArabia News Service